Epidemiological and immunopathological studies on Porcine parvovirus infection in Punjab

AIM: The aim of this study was to get the first-hand knowledge about the seroprevalence of Porcine parvovirus (PPV) in Punjab and a diagnosis of PPV from abortion cases of swine using gross, histopathological, and immunohistopathological techniques to observe the tissue tropism of the virus strain. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Tissue samples from the reproductive tract of pig (n=32), placental tissue (n=10), and aborted fetuses (n=18) were collected from Postmortem Hall of the Department of Veterinary Pathology, GADVASU, field outbreaks and from butcher houses in and around Ludhiana. These samples were processed for histopathological and immunohistochemical (IHC) studies. For seroprevalence study, 90 serum samples of different sex and age were collected from 15 swine farms of Punjab and were subjected to indirect enzyme linked immunosorbent assay using commercial kit. RESULTS: Overall, seroprevalence of PPV was found to be 41.1%. Sex and age related difference in the prevalence was noted. In abortion cases grossly congested and emphysematous lungs, congested internal organs with fluid in abdominal cavity and congestion in brain, changes were noted in fetuses, while diffuse hemorrhages and edema was observed in placental tissue. Histopathologically, the most frequent fetal lesions in aborted fetuses were noted in lungs, liver, and brain. IHC staining revealed PPV antigens in sections of heart, liver, lung, spleen, brain, lymph node of fetuses, placenta, and uterus of sow. Gross, histopathological, and IHC examination of the samples confirmed 5 fetus, 2 placenta and 3 female reproductive samples positive for parvovirus infection. CONCLUSIONS: Seroprevalence results may serve as a support either in prevention or control of the disease. IHC is the sensitive technique for diagnosis of PPV associated with the reproductive tract of swine and was found to supplement the gross and histopathological alterations, respectively, associated with the disease.